Ka-boing, Ka-boing . . .

Bungee Jumping Might Be About To Spring Up In Osceola County

KISSIMMEE — As if gator wrestling, an Elvis museum and a gift shop disguised as a mutant orange weren't enough, Osceola County may land another bizarre tourist attraction.

Bungee jumping.

A Winter Garden crane company wants to bring the trendy pseudo-sport to West U.S. Highway 192, home of the county's kitschier attractions.

A patron would pay to leap off a Really Tall crane while suspended from what amounts to a long set of fat rubber bands. The going rate for being transformed temporarily into a human yo-yo: $50 or more per dive.

County Commissioner Charles Owen, an owner of the land Adams Cranes wants to rent, said the idea is to test the market for three months before finding a permanent site for the company's elastic exploits.

The proposed site is a vacant parcel next to Factory Outlet USA Tee Shirt Barn, which Owen owns with his brother, Paul. Both brothers said they would not be involved in running the attraction, and they promised to see that adequate liability insurance is in place before giving the go-ahead.

They said they have no hankering to bounce through the air like overgrown tetherballs and probably would not try it.

Charles Owen predicted that competing attractions and the high cost of land would bring down the up-and-down business.

A man who identified himself as ''Ray Bungee'' at Adams Crane refused to speak with a reporter. Ray Adams of Adams Crane appeared before the county's Technical Review Committee to plead his case Aug. 21.

The next step is a Planning Commission review, scheduled for Thursday. The County Commission is to hear the request Sept. 16.

In Orange County, a zoning inspector shut down a bungee-jumping operation next to Shooters Waterfront Cafe in June. Orange County Commissioners permanently nixed the springy sport at that site in July, calling it a nuisance to nearby homeowners.

Australia banned bungee jumping last year after two people were slightly injured as they dove together. France outlawed the sport temporarily in 1989 after three jumpers were killed.